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Alliance, Genealogy and Political Power

The Cdsams of Junagadh and the Sultans of Gujarat

The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. E-mail: ssheikh{at}iis.ac.uk

In 1472, the Cdsam ruler of Junagadh in Saurashtra (peninsular western Gujarat) was finally defeated, after a long struggle, by the armies of Mahmd, the sultan of Ahmadabad, a turning point in the history of Gujarat. The Cdsams, hitherto dominant rulers, were reduced to the status of minor landholders. For the sultanate, it marked the abandonment of an administration based largely on tribute and alliance with local chieftains in favour of more direct rule. The transition in their government from military garrison-based rule to a more settled, bureaucratic sovereignty marked a significant shift away from the former system of politics in Gujarat. In spite of this history of violent antagonism between the Cdsams and the sultans, this article hopes to show how both groups belonged to a common, transforming arena of politics in which alliance-making, genealogy and patronage were markers of status, a form of politics which may still be recovered from texts, genealogies and the accounts of professional record-keeping groups.

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